


It's Christmas, Charlie Crews

by bessemerprocess



Category: Life
Genre: Angel Tree, Christmas, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-12-24
Updated: 2007-12-24
Packaged: 2017-10-04 13:13:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bessemerprocess/pseuds/bessemerprocess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just a bit of unbeta'd Charlie-crack for Christmas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Christmas, Charlie Crews

It's Charlie's first Christmas since prison, and he's not exactly sure what to do with himself. Before, he had spent Christmas with his parents and later when he was married with Jen's. This year it looked like it would be him and Ted.

Ted was a fan of the entire holiday process. He'd arranged for a crew to come out to the house and now it was lit up like a landing strip for Santa. There was even a tasteful wreath adorning the front door.

Which was why Charlie wasn't surprised at all when Ted wrangled him into the SUV after work and dragged him to Target to buy a fake tree.

"Why not a real one?" Charlie had asked after Ted explained his plan.

"Real trees die. So, I thought fake would be better," replied Ted and Charlie nodded in understanding.

Charlie's next question was, "Why Target? Couldn't we have just ordered one for the people who did all the lights?"

Ted looked affronted, "This is Christmas." At Charlie's blank look, Ted continued to explain, "If we just ordered a tree, it would just be a decoration. Meaningless. This is Christmas. We're going to buy a tree and some lights and ornaments and even some tinsel if you want. Then we're going to go home and eat cookies from a tube and put up the tree. That's how Christmas works."

Charlie's not really sure if that's how Christmas works, but he's in Target pushing a red plastic cart while Ted filled it with the required paraphernalia. Boxes of multi-colored lights, sparkly silver tinsel, three tubes of cookie dough, and a fifteen-foot tall tree in a box had made their way into the cart. Ted steered both Charlie and the cart to the aisle of ornaments.

"I used to have ornaments," said Charlie remembering when he and Jen had put up their first tree in their first house so long ago.

"Me too, my wife kept them all in the divorce," said Ted bitterly. "I'm sure she set them on fire or smashed them with a sledge hammer. Either way, this'll be a fresh start."

"A fresh start," repeated Charlie as he stared at the glittering ornaments. "I like this one," he said, displaying an ornament of Snoopy flying down a snow hill on his toboggan.

"Charlie, a fifteen foot tree needs a couple hundred ornaments. You can pick out all the ones you like," said Ted and Charlie's face lit up.

Twenty minutes and a second shopping cart later, their ready to check out. It doesn't happen, because Charlie gets distracted by the mostly barren Angel tree up front. There are only three tags left, and one of the employees stops to explain the concept to Charlie.  
The girl is obviously smitten, "It's the last day to buy gifts. So we have time to get them all sorted and wrapped and stuff."

"We'll take them," says Charlie, "Ted can start checking out and I'm sure if you help me, we can find toys for the kids while he's ringing up." Charlie smiles at the girl and she blushes red, ear from ear.

"I'm Caitlin," she says, "The toys are over here."

Ted tried not to roll his eyes, he really does, but it is just that Charlie can pick up girls without even thinking about it. "I'll be in line," says Ted as Charlie and Caitlin retreat to the toy aisle.

They return with enough toys for a small village. Caitlin is hanging off the cart, looking like she is going to pounce any minute, but for once Charlie is oblivious. Instead, he's smiling down on the cart of toys with that wide, goofy grin of his, "I feel like Santa Claus."


End file.
